On Wednesday, Vancouver city council voted on whether the city should have a CCTV (closed circuit television) surveillance system. The motion, brought up by Councillor Melissa De Genova, did not pass – meaning that there will be no CCTV cameras coming anytime soon. This isn’t the first time that this motion was brought to Vancouver City Council. It was actually brought up in 2018 and also failed to go through. Many major cities around the world have CCTV systems. For example, London has close to one million CCTV systems. When broken down, this equates to about one CCTV camera for 10 people.
So why are they wanting to bring these cameras in? In a way to combat, crime there has been a spike in crime recently. This motion was brought up by Councillor Melissa De Genova on Tuesday of this week.
So what are some of the pros and cons of having CCTV cameras? Below are just a few ideas that are for and against this proposition.
Pros:
- Public safety may be improved
- Crime, vandalism and theft rate may be reduced
- Help law enforcement catch criminals
Cons:
- Purchasing and installing the cameras
- Their effectiveness is not guaranteed as they can be easily abused
- Legal and privacy issues
Please provide your opinions that are between 20 to 25 detailed sentences. You can either be for, against, or agree with certain parts of the motion (only if you can’t choose!). Remember to back up your opinions with details similar to what I have listed above regarding the pros and cons of CCTV cameras.